Fascinating...I am required to take an all important English test next month. Don't ask me why, it has something to do with my not being a 'native English speaker'. Well, I am a native :-p lol, some would say...and I do speak something... but I am definitely not English. These are the times you wish the Queen would get a bit distracted from her grandson's wedding and wave her sceptre over my head pronouncing me English for a month. Wishes....
This takes me back to learning English back in the day. First by rote. I remember the teacher saying endlessly, 'Class, what is this?'
and our response was, 'ZAAAAT IS A TROPHY!!'
'Again, class! What is this?'
'ZAAAAT IS A TROPHY!!'
I remember graduating to Timve and Tsala at around age 8 after barely managing Reading for Some Purpose and Peter and Jane. Timve's Big Shoe anyone? What about learning through song on the then only authorised radio station, Radio MBC?
'Good morning children, good morning children, good morning dear children! Good morning to you!
'Good morning teacher, good morning teacher......'
It's a tough language to learn. Especially when it stops being about stories and poetic songs and they start throwing in grammar and stuff. ....but then, suddenly you are in high school and stories come back and the class is called English Literature. I never got how they crept that on us.
Anywho, this is serious. I am studying for my English test. Wish me well please, I've been known to speed read (which is good for missing a lot of instructions and failing trick questions); I've also been known for picking up bad habits i.e. sms lingo, ChichEnglish, copy+pasting phrases from Ebonics, TaalEnglish....you get the idea :-(
....truth be told, this is scary
This takes me back to learning English back in the day. First by rote. I remember the teacher saying endlessly, 'Class, what is this?'
and our response was, 'ZAAAAT IS A TROPHY!!'
'Again, class! What is this?'
'ZAAAAT IS A TROPHY!!'
I remember graduating to Timve and Tsala at around age 8 after barely managing Reading for Some Purpose and Peter and Jane. Timve's Big Shoe anyone? What about learning through song on the then only authorised radio station, Radio MBC?
'Good morning children, good morning children, good morning dear children! Good morning to you!
'Good morning teacher, good morning teacher......'
It's a tough language to learn. Especially when it stops being about stories and poetic songs and they start throwing in grammar and stuff. ....but then, suddenly you are in high school and stories come back and the class is called English Literature. I never got how they crept that on us.
Anywho, this is serious. I am studying for my English test. Wish me well please, I've been known to speed read (which is good for missing a lot of instructions and failing trick questions); I've also been known for picking up bad habits i.e. sms lingo, ChichEnglish, copy+pasting phrases from Ebonics, TaalEnglish....you get the idea :-(
....truth be told, this is scary
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